As the first age group to be reared with computers close at hand and as students with tight budgets and high tuition, our generation has come to expect that nearly everything we need in terms of information and entertainment can be found for free through the magic of the Internet. This belief, however, is about to meet new opposition. The New York Times last week announced that beginning in 2011 it will make its full online content available only to those who pay a flat fee. Under the new Times policy, an allotted number of free articles will be available to readers every month, after which they will be asked to pay for access to material on the site.
The Daily understands the dire financial situation that has made it necessary for the Times to make such a difficult choice. With ad purchases in a downward spiral and more people opting to get their information from easy and free sources on the Internet than from print newspapers, it's no mystery why the Times had to make some drastic changes. But it is nonetheless a sobering reminder that quality and accurate journalism does not come for free.
As members of the very age group whose constant Internet usage is said to be a primary factor in the decline of print media, we feel that this move by the Times will prevent greater readership of its coverage by the younger generation. Publications like the Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times, both of which have had relative success with charging for online content, are geared toward older and wealthier readers for whom business news is a focal point of their occupations.
While it is certainly true that there are a number of Times readers from this age group, it is also clear that the Times' broader coverage appeals to a larger demographic that includes a swath of younger people, many of whom are college or graduate students and young professionals. College students in particular, who are notoriously strapped for cash, are unlikely to pay for online readership. Additionally, even those younger people who have graduated and may have landed a job are so accustomed to getting news for free that the Times' new fees will merely spur them to look to other sources for their news, especially for major stories that are likely to appear in a variety of media, whether that be in print, online or on television.
In this way, the Times seems to be almost removing itself from younger people, alienating them by effectively limiting their access to sound reporting and journalistic excellence and making it even more unlikely that newspapers will regain their place as a touchstone of everyday life in the coming generation.
